Sir
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supports the R11.63 billion KZN Provincial budget allocation for the 2020/2021 financial year.
However, we wish to highlight the following issues that warrant immediate attention.
We would like to register our unequivocal disquiet over how the Department of Transport has handled its finances in the previous financial years, as indicated by the latest Auditor-General findings. This department’s finances have been in a shambles.
According to the findings, this department lost R14.11 billion on irregular expenditure, as it failed to follow proper tender procedures under the watch of former MEC, the Honorable M Kaunda, during the 2018/19 financial year.
This amount of irregular expenditure has been increasing over the years, indicating a complete disregard of SCM policies and regulations within the Transport Department.
Our major concern about this irregular expenditure is that it could have been prevented if the leadership was serious about putting an end to it.
Instead, there is no evidence showing that disciplinary steps were taken against officials who incurred irregular expenditure. There are just no justifiable reasons for a department to incur irregular expenditure of R14.11 billion.
We urge the Honourable MEC to ensure that the accounting officer is held accountable as to why the irregular and wasteful expenditure occurred.
Furthermore, the department under-spent the budget by R265.94 million on transport infrastructure due to delays in infrastructure projects, yet we have witnessed many violent protests around the province by communities demanding road infrastructure.
This department did not investigate or act against 10 cases of improper SCM conduct, whereby suppliers submitted false declarations of interest; and 13 cases where officials failed to disclose their own interests and that of close family members – contracts to the value of R92 million.
Budget cuts on road infrastructure
We hope that this department will do better in this current financial year. However, we have noted with concern the substantial budget cuts on the department’s Programme 2.
The reduction of an equitable share of R64.583 million, leading to the department not being in a position to undertake any significant reprioritisation, is not good for this province. Also, the reduction of R246.696 million for the 2020/21 MTEF of Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant (PRMG) is of huge concern to us as the IFP.
It is a problem for our people that important road projects will be halted by the impact of these cuts, as the department has already indicated that it will not be able to implement projects such as the additional camera network coverage required on the N2 North, which will have an impact on planned law enforcement and road safety programmes.
Budget cut on EPWP Grant
The most disturbing budget cut to us is the one against the EPWP Integrated Grant.
The province was impacted by the budget cuts, with a reduction from R71 million in 2019 to R63 million in 2020, which is a huge blow to the poor, as this has been an effective poverty alleviation tool for many.
S Moodley (IFP MP)
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